


Knights And Legends

by Jedi9



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:15:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28880838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jedi9/pseuds/Jedi9
Summary: After five years in carbonite, Taira Din, Barsen'thor of the Jedi Order, must once again team up with old allies, to free the galaxy from a new enemy.(This story will mostly follow the Knights of the Fallen Empire storyline but with some minor changes to canon)
Relationships: Lana Beniko/Female Jedi Consular | Barsen'thor, Lana Beniko/Female Outlander
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	1. The Endless Swamp

Barsen’thor of the Jedi Order had once been Taira’s title, and it was one she had carried with pride and honor, but now, it felt more like a burden than it ever did. Being the warden of the Order was a title bestowed only upon the most powerful of Jedi, to become one you had to have complete mastery of one’s emotions and powers and to be the perfect embodiment of the Jedi Code.

A lifetime ago, Taira had once been such a Jedi, but now she was not sure that she deserved the title anymore. She had fought with anger and made decisions based on emotions rather than for the greater good. Those were all things a Jedi was trained to avoid, and yet, she had done all of them.

Now, she was expected to use her unique abilities to save an oppressed galaxy from a tyrannical emperor. Taira’s mind was still reeling with the revelation that she had been away for five years, asleep in carbonite while the galaxy that she knew and loved, quickly fell under Arcann’s grip.

Lana waved at her before kneeling next to a water spring. Zakuul was foreign to the Jedi, and even though they were currently on the run from the Eternal Empire, the beautiful colors of the stars above — be it for only a short moment — brought some peace in her heart. Taira caught up to Lana and knelt next to her, catching her reflection in the water. She looked exhausted and drained of energy, but she tried her best to look strong and confident for Lana’s sake.

“A freshwater spring,” Lana said, looking at the young Jedi. “It should be safe for drinking.”

Taira lowered the hood of her robe and splashed some water on her face to soothe the tension from her usually soft features. The cold liquid felt refreshing, and she poured some at the back of her neck as she rolled her aching shoulders.

“You look tired,” Lana said, concern in her eyes. “I know the last day has been rough on you, but I hope you know you can tell me anything?”

The Jedi closed her eyes and nodded faintly. Lana was kind to offer her support, but the idea of confiding her emotions to a Sith felt weird and abnormal. Jedi were not supposed to feel what she was feeling and being around Lana was intoxicating. Her heart seemed to ache whenever the blonde Sith was around, something Taira was not used to.

Lana looked up from her water canteen to risk a quick glance at the young woman next to her. The Jedi’s eyes were still closed as she poured water on her face, her movements seemed slower and more deliberate than usual. In the day following her rescue, Taira had barely said a word and had mostly kept to herself, which deeply preoccupied Lana, but she had refrained herself from prying into the young Jedi’s feelings. In time, she hoped, Taira would open up to her about what was bothering her.

When the Jedi winced in pain, Lana used the Force to scan her friend’s body for injuries. There, on the Jedi’s left side, Lana sensed a few broken ribs and bones grinding together every time Taira breathed. She closed the distance separating them and looked straight into the Jedi’s eyes.

“You’re hurt.”

“Yeah, I must have broken a few ribs when we crashed the shuttle earlier,” Taira replied in a faint voice.

“I think I can help with that.” Lana placed both hands on the Jedi’s side. She waited until Taira gave her permission to begin.

Using the healing techniques she had learned during her acolyte years on Korriban, Lana focused her attention on the Jedi’s side, sending blue and purple energy over the broken bones. Taira groaned as more energy rippled through her body, repairing what was broken, and soothing what was painful. The idea of dark side energy being used to treat her wounds was both terrifying and oddly comforting at the same time.

Feeling suddenly drained of energy, Taira closed her eyes and dropped her head on Lana’s shoulder, moaning in glee as the pain gradually faded away. A warm feeling grew in Lana’s stomach when the Jedi’s head sought refuge in the warmth of her neck. Taira was tired, but Lana had not expected the Jedi to drop her guard completely, not so quickly.

Seeing the young Jedi like that was new to Lana. Taira had always been strong and reserved, and even during their fight against the Revanites, she’d rarely shown any signs of weakness. But now she was resting on her shoulder with her eyes half-closed, tears running down her cheeks as the walls that shielded herself from her emotions suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces.

Lana ran her fingers through Taira’s brown hair to soothe her friend. This was the first intimate moment they shared together, and Lana tried and failed to ignore the funny — yet not unpleasant — feeling in her stomach.

Taira was the first to break the silence between them.

“Do you know what happened to my crew?”

Lana’s heart melted when she heard the sadness in her friend’s voice, it was almost as if Taira knew her friends were lost. The last thing Lana wanted to do was to break her heart, so she considered her answer carefully.

“My agents are tracking a few of them, but with all the chaos from the last five years, it’s going to be hard to find them all.”

She felt the Jedi shift uncomfortably next to her and when she looked down, her green eyes were bright with unshed tears. Lana had more bad news to tell her but decided now was not the right moment. She had to do something to keep the Jedi from falling into a million pieces, and at that moment, she did the one thing she had wanted to do for five years.

Lana leaned in for a kiss, catching the young Jedi off guard. She sensed hesitation and wondered if she had done the right thing, then Taira answered with a rough kiss of her own.

There was an odd feeling in the Force coming from Taira, something that Lana had sensed since she revived the Jedi from her long nap in carbonite. She did not know what it was or what it meant, and up until now, she had ignored it because there had been more important things to worry about.

Where there usually was bright, untamed light in the Jedi’s Force aura, it was now tainted with darkness. The purple shade of the dark side was slowly corrupting and choking the light, but where it came from was a mystery, and Taira didn’t seem to be aware of the darkness inside her.

Lana waited until the Barsen’thor pulled away from the kiss to take a breather before confronting her.

“There is something new in you,” she stated, choosing her words carefully. “I don’t know what it is, it’s evasive but powerful.”

Something changed in Taira’s eyes and body language, her shoulders visibly tensed, and her gaze became distant as if she was reliving a long-passed memory. The Jedi stood up and began pacing slowly.

“Do you always probe your friends’ minds?” Taira asked, visibly uncomfortable.

“No, but I am worried about you that’s all,” Lana quickly replied. “I did not mean to be intrusive.”

The Jedi shook her head.

“That’s fine. You’re not wrong though, there is something I’ve kept to myself. I think the Immortal Emperor, Valkorion, is in my mind.”

Lana felt her eyes grow wide. No, it couldn’t be possible, could it? Sure, the Emperor’s powers had always been beyond her understanding, but how could he possibly be living inside the mind of a Jedi as strong in the Force as Taira?

“That’s impossible,” she replied with more confidence than she felt. “If he were somehow controlling you, I would know. I sure saw enough of it on Ziost.”

Taira turned to face her.

“While I was in carbonite, I saw things, dreamed about him. I haven’t heard his voice since you revived me, but is there a way to know for sure he isn’t controlling me?”

“I suppose not,” Lana admitted, defeated. “But I assure you, I will do my best to help you. If he really is living in you, I will do everything to help you get rid of him.”

“What about the others?” Taira asked. “Should we tell them as well?”

“No,” Lana replied. “We don’t know anything concrete yet, and in any case, Koth and HK would not understand. Best to keep this between us for the time being.”

Taira nodded reluctantly, not happy with the prospect of keeping something this big from her other team members. Telling Lana made her feel like a huge weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. She felt exhausted again. Everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours was weighing down on her; her body sore from all the running and fighting, her ears still ringing from when she had banged her head on the control panel during the shuttle crash.

Lana came up from behind her and put her arms around her waist and pressed her mouth on the back of her neck. Taira closed her eyes to close herself off from the rest of the world until it was just her, and Lana, the Sith’s strong presence in the Force feeling comforting and familiar. Taira still felt uneasy at having such a strong bond with a Sith lord, but whatever she told herself, she could not ignore her feelings, after all, the heart wants what the heart wants.

“It is getting late,” Lana said, bringing the Jedi back in the present. “We should camp here. Koth already has his parts and HK is keeping an eye on the perimeter. There is nothing left to do tonight, and you need some sleep.”

“I do,” the Barsen’thor agreed, too tired to argue. “Will you stay close to me?”

“Of course.”

Within minutes, the camp was up and food rations were being served and eaten. They told stories and jokes while drinking caff, before lying on their backs to gaze at the stars above. Taira was the first one to drift to sleep while Lana kept a watchful eye on her.

Lana put both hands on the sleeping Jedi and used Force healing techniques to tend to the numerous bruises on her body. It wasn’t until she was certain she had done all she could to help ease her friend’s pain, that she allowed sleep to take her in its comforting embrace.

Taira was dreaming, she knew she was, but the dream — and she hoped it was a dream and not a vision — felt increasingly real. She was running in the forest, the nightlife buzzed frantically around her, fallen tree branches cracked as she stepped on them, the sound echoing through the night. Taira could not see what, or who she was running from, but knew for certain, that if she stopped, the shadow would catch on to her.

The Jedi’s feet stepped in mud, and she almost slipped and fell. The muddy ground drastically slowed her movements. With each step she sank deeper and deeper, the shadow closing on her. Ahead, far out of reach, Taira saw a yellow light glowing faintly through the thick forest trees. It felt familiar and welcoming, but also foreign and weird at the same time.

Eventually, it became impossible to move further, and she was stuck between the growing shadow, and the light, unable to move toward one or the other.

Taira woke up with a start, eyes scanning the unfamiliar trees around her. She relaxed and sighed when she saw Lana kneeling next to the spring of water they’d found earlier as she refilled their water canteens. Taira did not know how long she had slept, but every aching bone in her body told her it had not been long enough.

Birds sang peacefully in the distance as the Jedi tentatively rose to her feet and took a look around. It was early in the morning.

“I hope nothing interesting happened while I was out?” Taira asked as she walked up to Lana’s side.

“Apart from the occasional birds fighting amongst themselves, you didn’t miss anything.” Lana gave her a once over. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel like I’ve been rolled over by an angry bantha.” Taira rolled her shoulders and heard them pop.

Lana rose to her feet and handed the young Consular one of the two canteens and a ration bar of dry food. “HK called a few minutes before you woke up, Koth has finished repairing the Gravestone, we should head back now.”

Taira nodded as she clipped the water canteen to her belt, it hung loosely next to her double-bladed lightsaber on her left hip. Feeling the weapon hanging from her belt usually felt familiar and reassuring, but now it felt oddly heavy.

“Do you think I’m different?” Taira asked as they began the long trek back to the Gravestone.

“What do you mean?” Lana asked.

“Since you woke me up from carbonite, I have been feeling, different. The Force, it does not resonate like it used to, it’s muffled, distant.”

Taira was aware of who might be residing in her head, and she suspected the Immortal Emperor was somehow deafening her connection to the Force, but something told her it wasn’t the only reason for it.

“Distant?” Lana repeated. “Your presence radiates brighter in the Force than ever.”

What the Sith lord neglected to say, was that it wasn’t the light that was stronger, but the dark. Considering their current situation, and the state the Jedi was in, Lana thought it wise to keep that fact to herself, at least for now.

Taira seemed to relax slightly, but Lana knew she was still worried about the change in herself, even though she was trying to hide it.

Wild animals scrambled as the two women walked past their nests, scurrying away in the darkness. Zakuul was a beautiful planet, especially at dawn, and if the Eternal Empire was not chasing them, Lana would be doing something very different with Taira right now.

The rest of the trip happened in relative silence, both women lost in their thoughts. When they arrived back at the Gravestone, Koth greeted them with a huge smile on his face, clearly excited to share the results of his work on the derelict ship with his Sith friend.

“Good you guys are back,” he said, unburdening Taira from the small tubes that contained the water they had found the night before.

“I see you have been busy while we were gone,” Taira said, her eyes examining the new parts installed on the ship. “Impressive.”

“If you’re impressed now, wait until you see the newly installed hyperdrive parts. Come on, let's get out of here.”

As Taira examined the Gravestone, familiarizing herself with its many halls and rooms while Koth ran the final diagnostics before take-off, a whisper led her to the reactor room. There, she saw Valkorion’s force ghost standing before her, his eyes staring right into her very core.

“Don’t look so surprised,” he said, but his voice spoke in her head. “Wherever you go, I go.”

“I…I thought you were just a dream,” Taira replied, her voice was weak and unsteady. This could not be happening, it had to be a dream or a waking vision. She never had one of those visions herself, but there was a very small amount of Jedi masters who had experienced them before.

Valkorion spoke again, his deep voice resonating in her brain.

“Oh, I assure you, I am quite real.” He looked around the room with some sort of stupefaction expression in his eyes. “The Gravestone, I have heard many stories about its exploits, I never imagined it was hidden right under my nose this entire time.”

“Yes, yes, it is an impressive ship,” Taira said impatiently. “Why are you in my mind? And how do I rid myself of you?”

“I come to you to offer my help, and yet you act as though I am the aggressor.”

“Should I treat you differently? All you have done is kill and bring chaos to everything you touch.”

“True, but I have never hurt you, nor do I intend to.”

Taira was about to reply, when a loud bang rattled the ship, almost making her lose her balance. Strident alarms rang in the room and the long hall behind her, and the emergency lights started flashing, bathing the room in bright crimson.

“Soon, you will ask for my help, you will see,” Valkorion said as he vanished out of existence.

Lana swung her lightsaber with unnatural speed and ferocity as she dispatched a group of invading Skytroopers. With true aim, she decapitated, dismembered, and crushed droid after droid, the dark side fueling her body with raw, untamed power. She felt the thrill of combat flow through her entire being, it was like a drug, but the high was much sweeter and far more addicting.

Another group of Skytroopers was attempting to breach through the bridge, and as she raised her blade, ready to dismantle them just as easily as she had the previous one when two of them flew backward and onto a bright green blade.

“Nice of you to join us,” Lana told Taira after she finished destroying the remaining two droids. “Koth and HK will protect the bridge, you and I will stop anyone else from entering the ship.”

Taira nodded and fell into steps behind Lana as the two women exited the Gravestone, cold wind blowing on their faces as the first rays of sunshine gleamed at the horizon. Far in the distance, a speeder bike echoed through the forest as it raced toward their location, carrying two knights of Zakuul with already ignited sabers in hands.

Five more knights appeared behind the speeder, shields, and sabers raised in a defensive position. Lana raised her hand and unleashed powerful lighting, catching two knights in the chest, killing them instantly. To the Sith’s left, the Barsen’thor activated her double-bladed lightsaber and sprinted toward the other three guards coming in their direction. Using the Force, she sent the female knight flying backward and into the swamp after she parried two near-fatal blows aimed at her neck.

“I’m coming to help you,” Koth’s voice crackled through her earpiece and Lana shook her head.

“No, we have help.”

Another speeder zoomed past Lana from the right, heading for the two knights locked in a deadly battle with the young Jedi Consular. Its driver — a middle-aged woman whom Lana knew very well — leapt from the speeder, twisting mid-air, her blue lightsaber connecting with the necks of both knights, both dropped dead as she landed on the ground.

Taira gave the new arrival a look of surprise before she nodded in silent thanks.

“You’re late,” Lana said as she regrouped with the two women.

“You know her?” Taira asked, lightsaber still raised in a defensive position.

“Taira, this is Senya, Senya, Taira.”

“You got one of the knights to switch sides?”

Senya gave the young Jedi a quick glance over her shoulder. “Not everyone blindly follows Arcann. Now stow the chatter, we have more incoming.”

The following battle went in a blur, with more and more knights pouring in from every direction, swarming the trio from all sides. Taira recited the first line of the Jedi mantra in an effort to remain calm under what quickly became an overwhelming and nearly impossible situation. _There is no emotion, there is peace_. Only, peace seemed to elude her at this particular moment. Her emotions for Lana, for the friends she lost and the lives she was now taking, overwhelmed her and disrupted her concentration.

Fatigue began to creep into her. Shoulders were aching and her fingers — now white from being clenched too hard on the lightsaber’s hilt — were slowly growing numb. If this fight didn’t end soon, if they kept on fighting this way, they would all die here. Taira had to do something, anything.

One knight swung wildly at Lana, throwing her off balance, her lightsaber falling to the ground safely out of her reach. Then, the world froze, and all the chaos came to a standstill. Puzzled, Taira glanced around the forest, stupefied and dumbfounded.

“What is this?” she asked no one.

“An opportunity,” replied a familiar voice.

Valkorion appeared in front of her, a satisfied look on his face as he admired his handy work. “You fought bravely, but even you know you’re fighting a losing battle. Look around you, my knights have you cornered, and death is all but certain for your Sith friend. I can help you, I only require the briefest moment of control.”

Taira quickly measured her options. Either she refused the order and continued to fight and watch her friends die, or she surrendered herself to the most powerful being in the galaxy and save everyone. She made her decision and prayed to the Gods it was the right one.

“Take care of it,” she said.

Valkorion smiled evilly. “Gladly.”

Then the world resumed, and just as the knight hovering over Lana was about to kill her, Taira felt her arms raise, and a second later, raw, purple, and blue Force lightning shot from her fingertips in a wave so powerful she almost flinched in surprise. The lighting went through all the knights around her, killing them instantly.

Taira then fell to her knees, exhausted and drained of all energy.

“That…That was him, wasn’t it?” Lana asked as she walked up to the Jedi and knelt next to her, her voice heavy with fear and uncertainty.

“I had no choice,” Taira whispered, her mouth dry and her throat heavy.

Koth then appeared, and as he looked around at the aftermath of the battle, he let out a long whistle. His expression changed from wonder to shock as he spotted Senya.

“What the hell is she doing here?” he asked Lana.

Lana helped the Barsen’thor up to her feet, then whirled to face him.

“She’s here to help. Now get back to the Gravestone and prep for departure.”

“If you think I’m letting this piece of work on my ship —”

“Now Koth.” Lana put all the power of the Force in her voice to make him comply. And he did.

As Koth returned to the ship, Lana turned to Senya, then to Taira. “The ship will never raise itself from the muck, we’ll have to give it a push.”

Still exhausted and sore from the battle, Taira nevertheless nodded and fell into a meditative trance.

“We can do this,” the Jedi said. She closed her eyes and lifted both hands toward the Gravestone. Lana and Senya mirrored her movements. “Let the Force guide you. With it as your ally, nothing is impossible.”

The Force flew freely through her, but its song was tainted with the stench of the Dark Side. Taira pushed her worries aside and surrendered herself completely to the Force, imagining herself floating in its wellspring, letting every wave carry her to her destination.

When the Jedi reopened her eyes, the enormous Gravestone was hovering twenty feet above ground, dirty water sliding down its old surface.

“Good, we’re free from the mud,” Koth announced into her earpiece. “Now get inside so we can finally get out of here.”

And with a nod, all three women dashed for the ship, eager to leave Zakuul behind.


	2. Into The Void

Taira strolled down one of the many long corridors of the Gravestone, marveling at the foreign architecture of the ship. Ever since escaping from Zakuul and fighting their way past the Eternal Fleet’s blockading the planet, the young Jedi has been pacing the halls in a vain effort to keep her mind off of what she had allowed Valkorion to do back on Zakuul. At the time, she told herself that she did it to protect her crew, but she only did it because she was afraid to die.

Taira came up to an intersection, crossing paths with the peculiar HK assassin droid who was currently busy patching up a blown pipe near the crew quarters. It was weird seeing such a droid fixing things around the ship, its bulky frame looking awkward as it performed a task better suited to an astromech droid.

HK acknowledged her with a nod before shifting its attention back to its work. Taira crossed the heavy airlock door leading to the cargo bay and heard Lana cuss as she unleashed a volley of Force lightning at a dummy target.

“Do you say that to all your enemies?” the young Jedi joked as she approached the Sith.

Lana’s expression didn’t change as she unleashed more lightning at another target. The Sith Lord had been like this ever since the Gravestone performed an emergency exit from hyperspace in the middle of nowhere. Taira knew she was disturbed by Valkorion’s display of power in the Endless Swamp, how could she not be? Taira, however, was even more disturbed since she was the one who had to live with a spirit inside her mind, a spirit that was, without a doubt, far more powerful than she could ever dream of becoming.

 _The shadow is closing all around me, blinding and choking my connection with the Force_. Maybe Lana knew a way to help rid of him.

“It’s therapeutic,” Beniko finally answered.

Lana turned away from the training dummies and whirled around to look at Taira. The Jedi shifted her weight uncomfortably as the Sith’s eyes bore into her.

“The power at your disposal, it troubles me greatly,” Lana admitted, taking a few steps toward the young Jedi. “I know why you did what you did, but knowing that Valkorion is in there,” she pointed at Taira’s head, “it’s hard to fully trust your actions.”

“My mind is still my own Lana,” Taira countered. “The Emperor is not controlling me. I am my own person.”

“How does it feel?”

Taira closed her eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them.

“It feels like a part of me is tainted, like a dark cloud is slowly creeping toward me, obscuring the light.” Taira closed the gap that separated them. “I want him gone Lana, I want my life back.”

Lana replaced a stray lock of hair behind Taira’s ear then took her hands and brought them both to her lips.

“I will do whatever I can to help you get rid of him, and once we get to Asylum, we’ll start working on it,” Lana said. “But for now, we need to focus on our current situation. Once we get to Asylum, we’ll start working on it.”

“You still don’t want to tell the others?” Taira asked.

“No, there’s no point in telling anyone until we reach Asylum.”

The Jedi nodded and took a look around in search of a chair or something to sit on. She had been on her feet for hours, helping fix bad power relays and power couplings that short-circuited after the one hyperspace jump they managed to do. She needed to take a break, a breather from a never-ending day. It wasn’t one damn problem after the next, but more like every damn problem all at once.

While the Barsen’thor walked over to a crate to sit on, Lana turned her attention back on the dummies, intent on working out more of her bottled-up frustrations. As she used the Force to grab and move two targets around the room, she felt the Jedi’s green eyes stare at her from behind and Lana felt her cheeks grow warm. She was still a bit distraught by her companion’s actions on Zakuul, but the feeling began to fade away as the realization that the Jedi — _her_ Jedi — was finally home. Lana had spent the past five years looking for her, forging alliances with shady characters and cutting deals with underground warlords, all in the hopes of being reunited with Taira.

The kiss they had shared in the Endless Swamp last night still burned on Lana’s lips and she found herself craving for more. It hadn’t been their first kiss, but it had felt more meaningful this time around than on Rishi, the Jedi clearly not anxious about getting caught since there was no one from the Republic on Zakuul to snitch on them.

 _Jedi nonsense._ Lana never understood why the Jedi Order frowned on love and meaningful relationships, for a Sith, these two powerful emotions could be used to drive one to better him or herself. Jedi preached and taught its members from a young age, that emotions were a burden, something to abstain themselves from to better serve the Force.

Lana was maneuvering the dummies around with expert precision when suddenly, she felt one pulling away from her telekinetic grasp and flying in a different direction. She did not need to look behind her to know it was Taira who was controlling the stolen target, she felt the Jedi’s powerful mark in the Force the moment she had begun using her powers.

Under different circumstances, having someone inserting themselves in her training would have enraged her, but not with Taira. Somehow, practicing with her, feeling the immense strength emanating from the Jedi, was soothing and felt intimate. When training in telekinetic manipulations, one did not think about keeping their mental barriers up, it was too exerting to do both, so thoughts and emotions from both women flew freely in the never-ending sea that was the Force.

By the end of this, both would know more about each other.

“I was talking with Koth earlier,” Taira said, breaking the silence. “He told me all the things you’ve done while looking for me for the last five years. I was surprised to learn you’ve been looking for me for all this time.”

Lana felt her lips curl up into a smile.

“Does it really surprise you?” she asked, sending her dummy on a collision course with Taira’s.

The Barsen’thor easily saw the move coming and quickly moved her dummy out of the way, chuckling as she did so.

“I guess not really, no.”

Lana returned the training dummy back on the ground and waited until Taira did the same before turning around to face the younger woman. Sweat was trickling down the Jedi’s forehead and cheeks and she took a few deep breaths to recompose herself. She clearly had not fully recovered from her long nap in carbonite if a simple six-minute training exercise drove her to exhaustion.

“Here, you should take a moment,” Lana said, handing Taira some water. “How are you feeling?”

Taira took a sip of water and wiped the sweat off her brow, her breathing not quite even.

“Tired mostly,” the Jedi answered between two intakes of breath. “It’s probably a side effect caused by my prolonged nap in carbonite, right?” She sounded worried.

Lana sat next to Taira on an empty crate and gave the Jedi a worried glance.

“That is what I suspect.”

“Why do I feel like there is a but coming?”

“But, your exhaustion might also be a side effect of your body rejecting this new, raw power living inside you,” Lana admitted, trying not to sound worried. The last thing she wanted was for the young Consular to start panicking, not when they all relied on her to defeat Arcann and his Eternal Empire.

Taira shifted uneasily in her seat, eyes fixed on the water canteen in her hands. For a fraction of a second, Lana thought she had seen a slight flicker of yellow in the Jedi’s deep green eyes. She decided not to mention it but filed it in her mind for later. A normal Sith would use this moment of vulnerability to tempt a Jedi to the Dark Side, but not Lana. She cared about this woman and trying to change her into something she isn’t felt wrong.

“You know,” Lana said. “That kiss back on Zakuul was great, but my memory of it is getting a little foggy.”

Lana was pleased to see a smile reappear on the Barsen’thor’s lips as they locked eyes together. Taira slid ever so slightly closer to her, her smile shifting into a grin as she brought her face a few inches closer to Lana’s.

“Oh, then maybe I should help you remember,” Taira said, her voice barely beyond a whisper.

“You should, it was a great kiss.”

Just as their lips were about to meet, a clanging sound coming from behind startled both women. Both sprung to their feet; Lana — lightsaber in hand — whirled around to find Koth staring back at her, an uncomfortable look on his face as he bent down to pick up the tools he had accidentally dropped.

“Sorry, I was just looking for a… hyperdrive matrix processor assembly,” Koth said in scrambled haste after seeing the crimson blade in Lana’s hand. “You probably haven’t seen one in here… I’ll keep looking.” He took off.

Lana retracted her blade and hooked the saber back on her belt. Taira buried her face in her hands, looking awkward and flushed. Lana thought she looked extremely cute all flustered and embarrassed. She chuckled.

“I think you should go check up on Koth,” the Sith said. “And you should get to know Senya. I’m not sure if you’ll hit it off, exactly, but I think you’ll find her intriguing.”

Taira found Koth knelt next to the faulty hyperdrive in the engine room, tools sprawled out all around him. She could not understand how such a competent man such as Koth, could have such a messy, and unorganized workspace. _If a master at the Academy found your workspace in such a poor state, he would make you clean the cantina for three days_. Her whole life, Taira had been educated into order, there was nothing in her room that was not in its place. Chaos did not have a place in a Jedi’s life.

“I get to be a maintenance manual,” she heard Koth murmur under his breath.

“Need help with anything?” Taira asked.

“Yeah, can you shut that down,” Koth replied, pointing to a wall panel. “I wouldn’t want to electrocute myself on top of everything else.”

Taira walked up to the terminal and keyed in a series of commands that would shut down the power from the main hyperdrive and redirect it to the second one while Koth installed the replacement parts. Usually, any modern ship the size of the Gravestone would only need one hyperdrive unit to function, but since this ship was of ancient design from a long-extinct civilization, it required two units in perfect working condition to travel to lightspeed.

Koth placed the new hyperdrive matrix and secured it with a hydrospanner, careful not to cut through wires before resealing the unit shut.

“Thanks,” Koth said as he got up. His eyes scanned around the room, a look of marvel appeared on his face. “She really is something isn’t she.”

Taira looked perplexed, was he talking about Lana?

“The Gravestone,” Koth clarified after noticing the confused look on Taira’s face.

_I should have guessed a grease monkey like him would talk about the ship this way._

“You grew attached to her rather quickly,” Taira said, restarting the main hyperdrive unit.

“No offense, but it’s not you, me or Lana, and especially not Senya who will stop the Eternal Fleet,” Koth said. He dusted his pants after putting his tools back in the toolbox.

“You don’t trust Senya?”

“No. She spent the last five years chasing me after I deserted my post. Senya acts according… I don’t know what. Her own narrow concept of justice. Even if her objectives align with yours, it doesn’t mean she’ll do what needs to get done — believe me.”

“Lana trusts her, for me that’s more than enough,” Taira replied.

Koth shifted.

“I trust Lana too, I think the world of her, but she is wrong about Senya. Just, don’t forget who dropped everything to storm the Spire and help Lana pull you out of carbonite.”

“I’d be a frozen carcass if you hadn’t,” Taira said smiling. “Thank you.”

“I should get back to work. I need to make sure the Gravestone can take us to Asylum. If Senya shines that narrow spotlight of hers on you, check your shadow.”

Senya was just pulling herself a plate of Muja fruit from the food reserve the Outlander and her crew had gathered during their short stay in the Endless Swamp. The former knight had been on many ships before — destroyers mostly, and on a few occasions, even cargo ships — but she had never seen a vessel quite like the Gravestone. It was ancient and its designs were unknown to her, but there was something within its walls that felt familiar. She could not quite put her finger on it.

The heating unit beeped twice, letting Senya know that the plate was ready to eat. She took it out and sat at a table large enough for ten people. As she dug into the plate, her mind wandered to distant memories from her past, not all pleasant. She had joined Lana and her mysterious Jedi friend to atone for the sins she had committed while serving under Arcann’s knights.

For five years she had cursed Koth for deserting the Eternal Throne’s army, and now she found herself in the same situation. Senya could not help but feel like a hypocrite. She knew that bringing Koth to justice had been her duty, after all, she had always been a loyal knight, but the man had seen the evil in Arcann long before she did.

The galley’s door opened in a woosh, causing Senya to look up. The Outlander — Lana’s Jedi friend — stepped inside and took a seat opposite hers at the table. The young woman gave her a small smile. Senya noticed dark circles under the woman’s eyes and a heaviness in her Force aura. The Jedi had a lot on her shoulders, and all things considered, she was handling the whole situation rather well from what Senya could tell.

“Hey,” the Jedi said, her eyes drifting to Senya’s half-empty plate.

“Did you need something?” Senya asked.

“No, not exactly.” The Jedi’s eyes settled back on Senya. “I just finished helping Koth repairing the hyperdrive, now I’m making the rounds, trying to get to know all of you better.”

Senya scoffed.

“And I am sure Koth had _positive_ things to say about me?”

“He has his own opinions, and I have mine. Right now, you’re a mystery to me, but Lana trusts you which means I do too. For now.” There was something in the way she had said that last sentence that made Senya flinch. For a Jedi, the Outlander sure had an edge to her.

“You’re more aggressive than I Lana described you.”

Taira’s expression hardened ever so slightly.

“And you are not at all like the knight I met in the swamp.”

Senya chuckled and finished her plate. She got up, put the plate in the sink, and turned back to look at the young Jedi.

“Being a knight means everything, but I don’t let it define me. When it’s time to go to work, I’m who I need to be. The rest of the time, I’m just myself. You don’t strike me as that different.”

Taira got up and folded her arms.

“I’m always me, it’s as simple as that.”

“I think that’s fine but expect your sense of self to be tested if you confront Arcann,” Senya replied, calm and composed.

“I know why I oppose him, but what’s your reason?” the Jedi asked.

Senya shifted ever so slightly, wondering just how much she should diverge to this stranger, this Outlander. She knew the real reason why she had joined the Outlander’s ragtag group of rebels, but Senya was not sure if she could trust any of them — Koth especially — with that kind of information.

“Years after the death of our Immortal Emperor, most are still so afflicted with remorse that they don’t see what’s happening. Arcann has become oppressive and cruel. He’ll crush anyone who doesn’t share his plan for the galaxy.” There was more to it than that of course, but for now, it would do.

Taira walked to the food distribution unit next to Senya and picked a curious-looking meal and put it on a plate. She pressed her back against the counter and began to eat the strange-looking meat.

“So that’s me, what about you?” Senya asked in turn.

Senya saw Taira’s eyes go distant for a moment, her green eyes unfocused and heavy with pain and regret. To see such a young person carrying so much pain was saddening, and somewhat humbling to Senya. Yes, her life had not been easy, and there was a lot she was still dealing with, but the Jedi — from what Senya read from her files — had suffered more than any person should in a lifetime. She had lost people, friends, and colleagues and had made decisions that kept important galactic factions from killing each other.

“Arcann took five years of my life,” Taira started, her voice calm but Senya detected a faint touch of anger in it. “He turned everything inside out. He has to answer for his crimes, and I will make sure he does.”

“I know what that’s like. Not exactly, but I see where you’re coming from. You’re not what I expected. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing yet, but I do know I’ll have an easier time with you than Koth.”

“I don’t trust either of you,” Taira replied.

“That’s fair. But I think you’ll come to find one of us is more trustworthy than the other.”

Taira retired to her room near the crew quarters later that night. It was not technically a room, not in the conventional sense anyway, but her minimalistic lifestyle drilled into her during her childhood at the Jedi Academy had taught her to make do with what she had. The crew quarters — if you could even call it that — had only four beds and she did not feel like sleeping in the same room as two strangers, so she found a cot and a somewhat comfortable pillow and claimed a vacant space for herself.

She laid there on her back staring at the ceiling for hours, unable to let sleep take her into its warm embrace despite the exhaustion. There was simply too much on her mind for sleep. _Valkorion is still alive in my mind_. This terrified her. What if he grew tired of being a simple passenger and took over her own body? The damage he could inflict posing as herself would be catastrophic. Despite the numerous times he’d assured her he meant her no harm, Taira knew all too well not to trust a Sith Lord’s word.

 _“But you trust Lana, don’t you?_ ” Valkorion’s voice echoed in her mind.

“She’s different,” Taira replied angrily. “Lana is not like you, she doesn’t devour entire worlds or destroy everything in her path.”

“ _Oh, but she has done terrible things,_ ” Valkorion replied. “ _Well, terrible from your point of view. Yet, you still trust her. Why?_ ”

Taira opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came. Truthfully, she did not know why she put so much trust in Lana. Yes they had a history of working together, and Lana had been more than just a colleague during their battle against Revan, but she was still a Sith and her a Jedi. Taira pondered the question for another hour when sleep finally came. She slept a dreamless sleep, and for that, she was grateful.


	3. Asylum

“We’re about to come out of hyperspace, everyone strap in,” Koth announced over his shoulder as the Gravestone was about to re-enter normal space.

The sublight drive kicked in as the white and blue hyperspace tunnel gave way to the dark blackness of space. Taira Din looked out the viewport and gazed at unfamiliar stars, an uneasy feeling appearing in her guts as the ship grew closer to a large spaceport orbiting a gas giant.

This Asylum — as both Senya and Koth had explained — was a massive spaceport created a long time ago by exiles from Zakuul as a safe haven. The massive gun batteries attached to the thick hull were more than enough to dissuade pirates and any other criminals from pillaging the station.

The station’s automated defensive system soft-locked on the Gravestone as it awaited confirmation of the access codes.

“Please tell me you didn’t forget the codes?” Lana asked. Taira knew she was simply joking, yet she detected the faint trace of worry in the Sith’s force aura.

“Don’t worry, I’m transmitting them now,” Koth replied. He keyed in a long sequence of codes into the computer panel to his right, then gazed intensely at the growing station.

 _Come on, come on_! Taira could hear his thoughts as clear as spoken words. She did not mean to pry, but the pilot was still a new acquaintance and she did not fully trust him yet.

 _That’s not reassuring,_ the Jedi thought, forcing herself to breathe and remain calm. Losing her cool wouldn’t help anyone right now, so she silently recited the first line of the Jedi Code. _There is no emotion, there is peace_.

“Gravestone, this is Asylum traffic control, we have received your clearance codes and you are free to land,” came a husky man’s voice through the bridge intercom. “Follow the landing beacons to pad four. I repeat, head to pad four.”

“Copy that traffic control, Gravestone inbound for pad four,” Koth replied, a smug look on his face. He craned his head to look at Lana over his shoulder. “See, told you everything would be fine.”

“No one likes a smartass,” Lana replied good-heartedly. “Now keep your eyes on our trajectory.”

“That’s probably a good idea. We don’t want to have come all this way just to end up vaporized.”

The bridge shook violently, the rattling of metal breaking through Taira’s trance. What Koth said made her heart skip a beat.

“Maybe I should figure out how to land this thing.”

“Maybe that’s something you should have figured out hours ago,” Taira replied harshly. Her heart was now racing in her chest.

The Jedi felt a warm hand land on her shoulder, and she turned around to see it was Lana’s.

“Koth is merely using humor to relax his nerves. Just lay back and try to relax.”

Taira did as Lana suggested. It was not like her to lose her composure in such a way, to the contrary, she used to take pride in her calm and composed state of mind. She wondered just how much her five-year stay in carbonite had changed her.

“ _I have heard of Asylum a long time ago,_ ” Valkorion said in her mind. “ _I never knew where it was until now. Not that I was actively looking for it. I advise caution, the people on this station are not all what they appear to be._ ”

“ _Koth said the old exiles are all dead and that Asylum is now mainly populated by refugees,_ ” Taira replied silently. She did not want the others to hear her talk to a dead emperor who somehow transferred his spirit in her mind. They would think she’s crazy. “ _Why should I be worried around them?”_

“ _Because there is a presence out there, and I can not quite make out what it is._ ”

When the shaking finally subsided and peace came back to the bridge, Senya entered the room through the heavy double doors and took a seat near in the far left corner.

“Tell your associates we’ve arrived,” Lana instructed the former knight.

“They knew that days ago,” Senya answered nonchalantly.

Koth made a face and looked at the Jedi and then at Senya.

“You want to explain how?” he asked. When Senya refused to explain, he said: “Figures.”

Taira took a deep breath and undid the safety harness that she had fastened around her waist when the ship finally landed on solid ground. After three days of repairing the battered derelict vessel, and four more days of lightspeed travel, she was looking forward to breathing anything other than recycled air.

As the group walked out of the bridge and entered the hangar bay, Taira spotted HK-55 standing dutifully at guard near the hatch that would lead them out of the Gravestone. He was humming some old tune that originated from Alderaan — _The Ballad Of House Ulgo_. It was a curious choice.

 _That machine gives me the creeps_. There was a reason HK assassin droids were feared by even the Jedi, their ability to adapt to every situation and to process information at near super speed made them formidable foes. Taira was extremely grateful that the droid was on their side.

Taira stepped through the hatch and walked the length of the long tube connecting the ship to the landing pad. When she came out, a wave of fresh air hit her, and she closed her eyes for just a moment as the wind whistled past her ears. It felt good after seven days in space to finally be out.

When the Jedi reopened her eyes, a muscular, tall bald man was approaching her at a quick pace, a determined look in his eyes. Her hand instinctively drifted to her double-bladed lightsaber hanging on her belt.

“Mighty fine ship you’ve got there,” the man said in a gravelly voice. “We’ll be coming aboard.”

“You really don’t want to do this,” Taira replied, her tone hard and confident.

The man’s gaze drifted past the Jedi’s shoulder and a smile suddenly appeared on his face as his eyes settled on someone he knew.

“Captain!”

Taira felt someone draw up alongside her, and when she turned her head, it was Koth. With outstretched arms, he smiled as he hugged the large man standing in front of them.

“Outlander, this is Len Parvek,” Koth said as he turned back to Taira. “And these other misfits are the rest of my crew. They’re the best engine-burners in Wild Space.”

Taira let out a long breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and withdrew her hand from her lightsaber hilt.

“I should have known they’re with you. The resemblance is uncanny.”

“The roguish charm tip you off?” Koth turned back to face his crew. “Get up here, you mangy wooluks.”

The small group of ship technicians and mechanics greeted their captain as they slowly walked deeper into the spaceport away from the landing pad. A man — who looked out of place with the small group of grease monkeys — slowly strode toward Taira. He looked familiar somehow.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

“Name’s Ralo,” the man introduced himself. “I was onboard Lord Marr’s destroyer. We thought you died with him.”

Taira shifted as she remembered Darth Marr’s body laying on the floor a few meters away from her, his lifeless form still twitching from the Force Lightning that had slain him. What happened at the spire still hunted her dreams, and every time she closed her eyes, Taira would see Valkorion’s face, looking pleased as he admired his work.

“I might as well have,” she replied regretfully.

Ralo looked at her with a somber expression, then nodded slowly.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t,” he told the Jedi. “A lot of good men and women made it out alive because of your warning. We would never have made it to the escape pods in time if it weren’t for you.”

Taira took the Imperial’s outstretched hand and shook it, that feeling of regret she’d had since escaping her carbonite jail, diminished ever so slightly. She watched the former Imp return to his new crew who were eagerly waiting for him before heading into a cantina for a drink.

Lana drew up alongside her, looking preoccupied.

“I’m going to meet with my underworld contacts, alone,” she told Taira. “Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone.”

Taira chuckled.

“Worried to miss out on the fun, are you?”

Lana gave her a stern look.

“No, I’m worried you’ll get yourself killed without my supervision.” She gave the Jedi a wink then disappeared through one of the adjacent tunnels from the landing pad they were on.

After Senya had informed her that she was going to meet with her people and that she should come with her, Taira spotted Koth walking up to her from the corner of her eye.

“Outlander, before you go with Senya, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?” Taira asked.

“My best engineer hasn’t come back from a supply run to the Free Zone,” he said with a concerned expression. “I was wondering if you could go look for her. But be careful, it’s a doggy neighborhood if you catch my drift.”

Taira nodded.

“Sure, I can do that.”

“Good. My engineer’s name is Tora, HK has her image in his databanks, so you should bring him with you.”

“When you’re done, find me at these coordinates,” Senya said before heading toward a long street.

Lana kept her senses on high alert as she picked her way through a large crowd of scruffy and dirty-looking workers. It was half-past eight in the afternoon, people were leaving work and heading back home for the night. The narrow street she was on was located in the lower levels of Asylum Station, and it was populated by humans and aliens of all shapes and sizes. Down here, you didn’t have to look far if you were looking for shady people, making it the ideal place to establish a large network of smugglers and bounty hunters.

She walked past a large marketplace bustling with people shouting and laughing as they purchased food and other goods. The air was thick with the smell of meat and seafood, making Lana’s stomach grumble. She hadn’t eaten a proper meal in nearly seven days, relying instead on dry rations and water packs during the long trip on their way here in the Gravestone.

Unfortunately, she did not have time to stop by a food market, and instead, she entered the third building on her left passed the marketplace. The noises and smell disappeared as the door closed behind her. In the center of the room was a circular holographic table. Lana walked up to it and keyed in a series of commands.

A hooded holographic image appeared a few meters above the table, bathing the room in blue.

“Cipher nine,” Lana greeted the figure. “I heard you had something for me?”

Lana had met Cipher nine back during service her days in Imperial Intelligence, back when he was still going by the call sign _Nightshrike_. A year after Arcann’s attack on the Empire and Republic, Cipher nine had re-emerged from hiding with vital information on Jedi Taira Din’s location. He was the one who informed Lana that the Eternal Empire hadn’t killed the Jedi but had instead taken her prisoner somewhere in their empire.

“Just an update on one of your queries about the Jedi,” he replied. “My sources in the Jedi Order confirmed that Satele Shan is still alive, but her current whereabouts are unknown at this time.”

Lana nodded.

“Good, at least I’ll have some good news for Taira.”

“How is she holding up?” Cipher asked.

Lana wondered whether she should tell the spy everything she knew about Taira’s current condition. Maybe he knew an expert in Sith spirit possession that could help the Jedi purge the intruder from her mind.

“All things considered; she’s doing pretty well. I am concerned about her mental being however, I fear the prolonged exposure to carbonite has affected her more than we anticipated.”

Cipher nine’s eyes narrowed.

“I sense there’s more you’re not telling me,” he said.

Sometimes, it startled Lana how Cipher — despite not being a Force-sensitive — could sense when she was holding back on him.

“She has… a condition.”

“What kind of condition?”

Lana took in a deep breath, trying to ignore the increasing feeling that she was betraying Taira’s trust by telling Cipher about Valkorion.

“When the Immortal Emperor died, when she killed him, his spirit transferred inside her,” Lana said.

“Are you certain?” the spy asked, more than a little worried.

“I am. There is a power inside her, it’s strong and dark.”

“Does she need to be taken care of?”

Lana’s eyes widened despite herself. Was Cipher nine really suggesting killing Taira, after all the work they had put into finding and rescuing her?

“No, she has a handle on it,” Lana replied with more conviction than she felt. Her mind flashed back to the faintest flicker of yellow she’d seen in the Jedi’s green eyes for only a split second. Taira was fighting Valkorion, and it was leaving her drained and prone to bursts of anger, something Lana was not used to seeing in the young consular.

In the past, when Taira was badly hurt after a particularly brutal fight against the Revanites, Lana would use her powers to heal her wounds and soothe her pain. But now she could do nothing and it frustrated her.

“I will trust your judgment on the matter agent Beniko,” Cipher replied. “I will continue to try and locate the Jedi’s missing crew, I will contact you once I have news.”

“Before you go,” Lana quickly said. “Do you know of any Sith Lords with knowledge in Sith spirit possession?”

“I might know one, but it will take a while to track her down,” the spy replied. “I’ll be in touch.”

The transmission ended and Lana was alone with her racing thoughts once more.

The headache was back in full strength as Taira ended the negotiations with an ex-Republic special forces soldier who was now running an underground weapon smuggling operations. Once she managed to convince him to release Tora — Koth’s pain in the rear engineer — she turned back to the woman with blue hair and told her to return to her captain. Then she stepped out of the warehouse onto a now dark and empty street, sending a cold shiver up her spine. Something felt off, but she could not pinpoint the origin of the disturbance.

“HK,” Taira said, glancing at the droid standing on her left. “Do you have the coordinates Senya wanted us to meet her at?”

“Obvious statement: Oh yes master,” replied the droid.

“Lead the way then.”

They walked for a few minutes, heading down alleys and through food and weapon markets, until they arrived at an unmarked building with a set of large heavy metallic doors.

“Statement: According to the coordinates provided by mistress Senya, we are exactly where she wanted to meet with us,” HK said, looking around at their surroundings, searching for the elusive knight.

“So, where is she?” Taira asked, the uneasy feeling in her stomach worsening.

Then, suddenly, the doors of the building slid open, revealing a large reception area. Senya stood in the middle of the room; arms crossed around her chest looking impatient. Taira entered the building when the sound of something short-circuiting came from behind her. She spun around to see HK now laid lifelessly on the hard concrete of the street, his body still shaking from the high electric voltage it had endured.

“Koth warned me not to trust you,” Taira said as her gaze settled on Senya, her voice hard and cold. “I should have listened to him.”

Senya remained calm, her expression unreadable as she unfolded her arms and motioned for the Jedi to follow her.

“Do not be so quick at jumping to conclusions. My people wish to speak with you, and your droid is not a part of it, so he had to be incapacitated. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”

The former knight of Zakuul led Taira deeper into the complex, passing through multiple doors and down two sets of stairs. This place was a gigantic maze, full of twists and turns and corridors and rooms that looked purposefully designed to keep its guests disoriented.

“ _The presence I’ve felt on the Gravestone, it is here_ ,” Valkorion announced in the Jedi’s head.

 _I sense it too, it feels evasive even from this close_ , Taira silently replied to the ghost in her head.

“ _Be careful, I feel a battle is approaching._ ”

When Senya brought them to a stop in a barely lit circular room, Taira dropped her hand instinctively to her hip, her thumb brushing the tip of her lightsaber’s hilt. She sensed movements all around her but her eyes found no one. They were hiding in the shadows, safely out of view, but they could not hide their presence from her.

They moved in a circle, like eager predators about to jump on their prey. Taira’s heart thumped hard in her chest and temples and she forced herself to remain calm, to move her adrenaline-induced limbs slowly and precisely.

“Before Arcann’s betrayal, Zakuul was protected by two orders: The Knights, and Scions,” Senya said calmly. “The Scions see visions of the past and future. Scions no longer serve Arcann, and whether they serve you will be determined now.”

From her peripheral vision, Taira saw an old man step into view from the shadows, remaining at a safe distance. She’d seen that man before, on the spire back on Zakuul five years ago. Heskal was his name.

“Fate is a tale whispered to us by the Force,” Heskal said, his tone neutral and emotionless. _Like a Jedi_. “The voices are silent about you, and we need to know why.”

“What do you mean, silent?” Taira asked, confused. She hadn’t been using any of her Force concealment techniques.

“There is a block in the Force, it prevents your song from being heard by us. If we are to aid your rebellion, we must understand what role you play in Arcann’s defeat. We will test you physically and spiritually to pierce the veil and see the truth.”

Taira felt her stomach drop as one of the presence she’d been tracking through the Force began to converge on her, moving slowly to disguise itself.

“It sounds like you’re planning to attack me,” Taira said, her fingers now curling around her lightsaber, ready to draw at any moment. “That would be a mistake.”

“We do what must be done,” Heskal replied.

Senya unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and turned to face the young Jedi.

“I tie my fate to yours. I join you in these trials.”

Suddenly, two people — a man and a woman — dropped from the ceiling and moved in perfect synch toward the duo. Taira flinched slightly as she yanked her lightsaber free from her belt and activated it. She had only sensed one of the two moving toward her, not both.

The attackers were already on the move, splitting up to separate the two women. They moved quickly and with precision, purple lightsabers flashing and slashing in all directions. Taira activated the second blade and adopted the second lightsaber form — also known as the Makashi, a stance designed for lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat.

The Jedi deflected her attacker’s strikes, but the taller man was both taller, and more powerfully built than her so reach and raw strength was on his side. But Taira had fought taller and larger foes before, and she had quickly learned that she could not match them in a fight of strength. Agility and speed were on her side, and she intended to use both to her full advantage.

As the man moved in for another blow, the young consular dodged the blade, dropped to her knees, and with one swift and precise move, flung her attacker’s legs from under him. He fell on the ground hard with an audible thump.

Not wasting any time, Taira sprawled into action, quickly using her attacker’s brief moment of disorientation to disarm him of his lightsaber and pointed her green blade at his throat. He remained very still.

Senya did the same with her attacker moments later and the room became silent once more, save for the low hum of their lightsabers.

“Does that answer your questions?” Taira asked.

“Not quite,” Heskal replied. “Arcann took years of your life, but he stole far more from the rest of us. Do you feel anything for those who suffered while you slept?”

“Why else would I be here? I want to end the suffering.”

Heskal’s eyes settled on Senya.

“And you, Knight? What do you feel?”

“Shame,” Senya replied, her voice cracking.

“Because you failed to protect our Immortal Emperor?” the Scion replied with venom in his voice.

“I was in no position to do that.”

Heskal stepped closer.

“What of the Scions who were slaughtered by your fellow Knights because Arcann demanded it? Do you feel responsible for them?”

Taira looked at Senya and her heart felt heavy when she saw the look of pain on the woman’s face.

“When I joined the Knights, they were shields protecting our homeworld,” Senya countered. “Now they are mindless weapons, a tool wielded by an insane child. The Knights should have rebelled against Arcann. Instead, we have lost our honor.”

Two more attackers appeared from the shadows, and Taira raised her blade once more, preparing for the inevitable.

Lana was on her way back to the Gravestone’s landing pad to see if Koth needed help fixing the ship when the strangest of feelings crept to the front of her mind. She felt tired and panicked at the same time, and saw flashes of men and women she did not recognize, lunging at her. These were not her memories nor her feelings, but someone else’s. But how could that be possible? She had never experienced anything quite like that before.

Somehow, she knew immediately that Taira was in danger. Lana picked up the pace and all but jogged back to the ship. As she approached the Gravestone, she spotted HK staggering slowly toward the ship, looking lost.

“HK, what has happened to you?” she asked the droid.

“Confused statement: I do not know master.”

That was odd, how could he not know.

“Come back to the ship with me.”

Lana and HK found Koth kneeling over an open hatch on the Gravestone’s right-wing, shouting some obscenities at Tora as she finished applying the last replacement part.

“I found HK wandering around with no memory of anything since he left,” she told Koth.

“Whew, that can’t be good!” he replied, giving a quick glance at the still sparking droid that stood a few meters behind Lana. “Where’s the Outlander?”

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Lana replied with urgency. “I think she’s in danger.”

“Senya wanted your friend and HK to meet her contacts. She gave them coordinates to the location.”

HK — after hearing his name — stepped closer to the small group.

“Apology: I have no such data stored in memory.”

“Senya… I knew it!” Koth exclaimed, giving Lana an _I told you so_ look.

She ignored it.

“I believe her contacts are the real danger,” said the Sith, turning her head to face the droid. “HK, what’s the first thing you remember after you woke up?”

Sweat trickled down from the Jedi’s face as she lowered her lightsaber. Her shoulders ached from the prolonged battles against these Scions, every movement sending a fiery pain throughout her arms. Taira thought her heart would burst inside her chest and in her exhausted state, panic crept to the front of her mind. She swayed to one side and used the nearest wall to support herself. When she looked down she saw a large gap in her robes that began under her left breast and ended near her waist. _No wonder I’ve been struggling to walk_ , she thought as she slowly regained her composure.

Senya — not looking remotely exhausted — motioned at the young consular to follow her into the next room.

 _I hope this fragging test is almost over_.

“ _It is,_ ” Valkorion assured her.

“What, are you a Scion now?” Taira accidentally replied out loud.

Senya gave her a puzzled look but otherwise said nothing.

The last room was not unlike the first one she had been an hour ago at the beginning of these trials. The Scions stood in a half-circle at the center of the room, with Heskal standing in the middle, lightsaber already in hand. The mysterious man waved at Taira — and only Taira — to step in the circle. She did as she was told and waited with an impatience that was uncommon for her.

“You seek to remove Arcann from the Eternal Throne, as well you should,” Heskal stated. “His destiny is to fall; we have foreseen that much. But his final fate — much like your own — remains unclear. Answer me this: when he is at your mercy, what will you do?”

Taira thought long and hard on her answer. A part of her wanted to show him compassion as was the Jedi way, and the other wanted to see him suffer for all the wrong he had caused, for robbing her of five long years of her life.

“I will show him mercy and arrest him,” she answered.

“A thousand Scions lie dead because of him,” Heskal spat back, his features grim and resolute. “Blood calls out for blood!”

“I will not stoop down to his level by killing him,” Taira countered, tightening her grip on the saber as Heskal move closer to her. “I came here because Senya believed the Scions could help take down Arcann, but if all you want is blood, then we will go our separate ways.”

She turned to leave, when a hard fist connected with the back of her neck, sending her tumbling to the ground. Stars danced in her vision and her tongue tasted blood, but Taira was pleased to realize she was not concussed.

Taira whirled back to her feet and ignited her lightsaber just in time to counter a blow from Heskal’s blue blade. Sparks flew in the air around them as the two began a deadly dance, causing the room to smell of burning and sweat.

As the mad man lunged at her for another attack, the world suddenly froze and the blue and white ghost of Valkorion manifested to Taira’s right. _Another opportunity_.

“ _His argument with you is pointless and destructive. I can end this without any more bloodshed if you accept the gift of my power._ ”

He had a point, the Jedi thought, but she refused to give Valkorion another opportunity to control her actions, not again. She still had waking nightmares about the last time.

“I can take him myself,” she replied.

“ _Then stop toying with him_.”

Time resumed and Taira easily side-stepped Heskal’s attack to her midsection, and parried with a disarming strike of her own, sending his lightsaber flying well out of his reach. The man knelt in surrender; his eyes closed as he readied himself for the final blow.

“Don’t kill him, we need the Scions,” she heard Senya shout from somewhere behind her. She wouldn’t kill him, it wasn’t the Jedi way.

“If the Scions still want to help us, I accept.”

As the other Scions gathered behind their leader, the large door behind Taira suddenly opened and a familiar voice echoed through the chamber.

“Stand down,” Lana ordered the Scions, using the Force to put weight to her words.

To the Sith’s left were Koth and HK, both were aiming their heavy combat blaster rifles at the gathering of Scions. They looked ready for a fight and seemed to have packed enough ammunition to blow up an entire city block.

Taira gave them a sign, signaling that all was fine.

“Every moment since you entered, even this one, was predestined,” Heskal stated as he got back on his feet. “Everyone here played the role fate assigned them. I ask you a final question: what future do you see for this galaxy when Arcann and his Eternal Fleet are gone?”

“One person should not decide the fate of an entire galaxy,” replied the Jedi. “When the time comes, we can work together.”

“ _He will not live to do that,_ ” Valkorion said, his words a dark presence echoing through her mind.

Heskal’s eyes widened and suddenly glowed white.

“You have nothing further to reveal. I now know what blinded us to the future. Our Immortal Emperor lives… inside your mind.”

Taira felt the eyes of the others burn at the back of her head.

“Well, it couldn’t stay secret forever,” Lana said from her right.

Koth looked surprised and hurt at the same time.

“You knew about this, and didn’t tell me?”

Taira turned to look at him in the eye.

“We thought you wouldn’t believe us. Do you know how crazy it sounds to admit that I have someone living in my head?”

The hardness in his eyes diminished a little.

“Our duel gave me a glimpse of what’s to come,” Heskal said, his eyes back to normal. “You will destroy the Eternal Throne… but many will suffer before that victory.”

Lana stepped between Taira and the old Scion, eyes locked on the mad man.

“Valkorion is a threat to all life everywhere,” Lana said. “Do you know of a way to separate him from my friend?”

Heskal shook his head.

Lana turned back to Taira.

“We have a lot to discuss.”

“Not here,” the Jedi replied. She looked at the Scions, then at Heskal. “I passed your test, join us or don’t. Either way, we’re done.”

As Lana, Taira and the others began to walk out of the building, Senya cleared her throat and stepped in front of the Jedi and the Sith.

“There is one more truth yet to reveal,” the Knight said, her eyes watering a little. “I withheld the true reason I followed you through the trials. To understand the Outlander who will destroy Arcann and Vaylin… my son and daughter.”


End file.
